Cigar



June 13, 1967 o. H. GOLDSCHMIDT ETAL 3,324,353

CIGAR Filed March 2, 1964 Tigl INVENTORS O TO H GOLDSCHMIDT EQ RRAY JELLING- United States Patent 3,324,863 CIGAR Otto H. Goldschmidt, Derkindcrenlaan 14, Laren, Netherlauds, and Murray Jelling, Hempstead, N.Y.; said Jelling assignor to said Goldschmidt Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 353,648 2 Claims. (Cl. 131-12) This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 47,205, filed Aug. 3, 1960, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a method for the forming of a mouth portion of cigars and also to a cigar having a coated or impregnated end structure.

Gigars generally consist of an inner central portion of tobacco leaves called the filler which are arranged in a sheet of material called the binder leaf. The filler and the binder leaf are wrapped in another sheet of material called the Wrapper leaf. With the development of reconstituted tobacco (pulverized tobacco pieces joined in a sheet form with presumably a water-soluble binder, sometimes called homogenized tobacco), the binder and wrapper sheets of tobacco have sometimes both been made of reconstituted tobacco sheets rather than the processed leaves of the tobacco plant as formerly. When the wrapper leaf is a reconstituted sheet of tobacco, the smoker in wetting the end structure or mouth portion of the cigar dissolves or weakens the binding material of the wrapper leaf. This results in particles of reconstituted tobacco and filler tobacco coming loose from the cigar and an unpleasant taste and sensation.

In the past it has been suggested that various coatings such as varnish be placed on the ends of cigars using natural tobacco. For example, the ends of cigars have been impregnated with nitro-cellulose to protect the lips of the smoker or to prevent the saliva from absorbing ingredients of the tobacco. Natural tobacco has a high wet strength so that the problem of destruction of the wrapper leaf is not present.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a cigar with its wrapper leaf made from a sheet of reconstituted tobacco in which the mouth portion will not disintegrate in the smokers mouth.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a method of coating or impregnating the mouth portion of a cigar whose wrapper leaf is made of reconstituted tobacco, so that the mouth portion withstands fluids and is tough, flexible, abrasionand tear-proof, tasteless, odorless, harmless, stable, and readily and inexpensively produced.

In accordance with the present invention, the mouth portion of a cigar whose wrapper leaf is of reconstituted tobacco is coated or impregnated with a plastic material. The plastic material is preferably not soluble in water, although water-dispersible plastics may be utilized if the proper means are utilized to physically support the Wrapper leaf.

The invention may be best understood by a reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cigar with successive layers peeled away to illustrate its construction;

FIG. 2 is a top plane view of a cigar illustrating by the cross-hatched area that portion of the cigar treated with the impregnating material.

Referring to the drawing in FIG. 1, a cigar constructed by ordinary methods usually consists of a filler portion 1 and a binder leaf 2 which may be a natural tobacco or reconstituted tobacco which is wrapped securely about the tiller 1. Covering the binder leaf 2 is wrapper leaf 3 which for the purpose of this invention is made of a sheet of reconstituted tobacco. The advantages of reconstituted tobacco over natural tobacco in the binder and wrapper "ice leaves are cost considerations, manufacturing convenience, and consistency in taste and appearance. The sheet of reconstituted tobacco which comp-rises the wrapper leaf 3 is composed of pieces of pulverized natural tobacco leaf which has been manufactured into a thin sheet as set forth, for example, in US. Patent No. 2,592,553. In Patent 2,592,553 of Frankenburg and Garbo, leaf tobacco is ground, mixed with an aqueous solution of a Water-soluble derivative of cellulose, formed into a sheet and dried in order to produce a sheet of low wet strength reconstituted tobacco.

In FIG. 2, the cigar of FIG. 1 has been treated with the plastic at its mouth portion 4 (shown in cross-hatched lines). The plastic may be applied either by dipping, brushing, spraying, or treating the artificial wrapper leaf in the appropriate area prior to forming the wrapper leaf about the binder leaf of the tobacco. As an alternative, the area of the Wrapper leaf which will be, after wrapping, the inner or outer surface of the mouth portion or both surfaces thereof may be coated with plastic. Similarly, the binder leaf may be treated. The term body is used herein to describe that portion of the cigar which is covered by the wrapper leaf and usually consists of the filler 1 and binder leaf 2. The mouth portion 4 to which the plastic material is applied is about one to one-andone-half inches from the end of the cigar and comprises the entire portion which is placed by the smoker in his month. That portion is not reached by the burning tobacco.

Preferably, the cigars are dipped in the plastic and dried at 70 F. to 150 F. Two or three coatings may be applied successively to obtain a thicker and more substantial coating. It has been found that a coating of plastic material applied in this manner will protect the reconstituted leaf completely from the deteriorating action of the smokers saliva.

Examples of suitable plastics include a 10% solution in alcohol of a polyamide resin produced under the trade name Gental by General Dispersions, Inc., from Zytel 61 Nylon Resin which is manufactured by the Du Pont Company. Unlike most of the other nylon resins, this polyamide resin is soluble in alcohol containing 5%- 20% of water by weight. An acrylate ester copolymer (25% of solids) made under the trade name of Acryloid 13-44 by Rohm & Haas, is also satisfactory.

Examples of suitable plastics in aqueous dispersions include a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride (50% solids), produced under the trade name Resyn 3600 by the National Starch Chemical Corp. Genton 110, a dispersion (10% solids) of the same polyamide as listed above is likewise satisfactory. Sometimes water dispersions are not suitable for the plastic material as they destroy the water-soluble binder in the reconstituted wrapper sheet 3 before they can harden into their plastic state, unless the wrapper or binder leaf is physically supported, for example, by applying the plastic after assembly of the cigar.

In order to dull the otherwise glossy plastic coating so that it resembles the rest of the cigar, additives can be used in the plastic solutions. Powdered tobacco may be added to any of the solutions. Particularly suitable as additives are about 1% to 5% by weight of synthetic silicon dioxide in the form of colloidal silica, zinc stearate, bentonite, magnesium silicate and talcs.

Tests have shown that coatings on the mouth end of a cigar as prepared with the above-listed materials completely protected the cigar from the action of the smakers saliva for over three hours, during which time the cigars were smoked and chewed. The nylon film formed in three coatings from a mixture of 1 part of colloidal silica( Cab- O-Sil M5), manufactured by G. L. Cabot, Inc.) and 100 parts of Genta-l 100, was found to be the toughest and closest to the rest of the cigar in appearance. At the end of that time, the coated part of the reconstituted wrapper sheet 3 was still tough and flexible, tasteless and odorless and did not give off particles of material. Smoking qualities of the cigar are not affected by the impregnation of the mouth end as there is no burning of the cigar at that end.

The terms high wet strength and low wet strength are well. known to men skilled in the art in the cigar industry. For example, the patent to Sartoretto, US. Patent 2,613,673, is directed to a reconstituted tobacco having high wet strength, while the patent to Frankenburg, US. Patent 2,592,553, relates to a reconstituted tobacco having low wet strength.

There are a number of tests which have been accepted in the industry for Wet strength of sheet material. The most extensive Work along these lines have been done in connection witht he testing of paper. These tests have been promulgated by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, with headquarters at 360 Lexington Ave. New York 17, NY.

One of the tests utilized is set forth in TAPPI Routine Control Method No. RC-48 (issued April 1950), which involves dropping a carefully measured amount of mercury from a graduated buret. The mercury is dropped from the buret at about 200 ml. per minute upon a wetted test sample 4.5 inches in diameter which is held in a clamp.

Another method utilized is the use of a Mullen Tester, preferably equipped with a low-range gage. The material to be tested is cut into strips 4 x 24 inches and the strips are completely immersed in fresh water at room temperature for minutes. The strip is then blotted according to a specific method and then burst in the Mullen Tester. This use of the Mullen Tester is described in RC 205 of TAPPI Routine Control Methods (January 1951).

A third method which is used is to clamp a /z-inch strip with a weight of 132 grams attached to the unclamped end of the strip. The clamped strip is then lowered into a beaker of water so that half of the length of the strip is immersed. A stop watch is used to measure and record the elapsed time from when the strip first becomes wet until it breaks and the weight falls. This method is de- 4 scribed in RC-39, TAPPI Routine Control Method (April 1950).

It is consequently seen that if material is of high wet strength or of low wet strength it may be tested by a number of accepted and utilized testing procedures.

For the purpose of tht present application, it will be understood that the term high wet strength, as applied to homogenized wrapper leaves, means those homogenized wraper leaves which will not disintegrate in the smokers mouth for at least 10 minutes.

Modifications may be made in the present invention within the scope of the subjoined claims.

We claim:

1. A cigar comprising a body portion of tobacco, a binder leaf of low wet strtngth reconstituted tobacco wrapped about the body portion, a wrapper leaf of low wet strength reconstituted tobacco Wrapped about the binder leaf, and a flexible water insoluble filmy, tasteless plastic coating on the mouthpiece end of the wrapper leaf having a coloring additive so that the coating resembles the body of the cigar, in which cigar the plastic coating covers said end of the cigar for about one-and-a-half inches in length in the axial direction commencing coextensive with said end and in which cigar the low wet strength reconstituted tobacco leaves are sheets which disintegrate when immersed in Water, whereby by the practice of this invention the mouth portion of the cigar may be wet by a smoker without it disintegrating.

2. A cigar as claimed in claim 1 wherein the coating includes colloidal silica as the additive.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 126,698 5/1872 Harris 131-12 X 931,629 8/1909 Meyer 13112 1,716,250 6/1929 Thiele 131-15 2,272,206 2/1942 Jacobowitz 13112 2,613,673 10/1952 Sartoretto et al. 131-15 LUCIE H. LAUDENSLAGER, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL KOREN, Examiner. 

1. A CIGAR COMPRISING A BODY PORTION TO TOBACCO, A BINDER LEAF OF LOW WET STRENGTH RECONSTITUTED TOBACCO WRAPPED ABOUT THE BODY PORTION, A WRAPPER LEAF OF LOW WET STRENGTH RECONSTITUTED TOBACCO WRAPPED ABOUT THE BINDER LEAF, AND A FLEXIBLE WATER INSOLUBLE FILMY, TASTELESS PLASTIC COATING ON THE MOUTHPIECE END OF THE WRAPPER LEAF HAVING A COLORING ADDITIVE SO THAT THE COATING RESEMBLES THE BODY OF THE CIGAR, IN WHICH CIGAR THE PLASTIC COATING COVERS SAID END OF THE CIGAR FOR ABOUT ONE-AND-A-HALF INCHES IN LENGTH IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION COMMENCING COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID END AND IN WHICH CIGAR THE LOW WET STRENGTH RECONSTITUTED TOBACCO LEAVES ARE SHEETS WHICH DISINTEGRATE WHEN IMMERSED IN WATER, WHEREBY BY THE PRACTICE OF THE INVENTION THE MOUTH PORTION OF THE CIGAR MAY BE WET BY A SMOKER WITHOUT IT DISINTEGRATING. 